Beverly Giesbrecht ransom offer rejected

 

A ransom offered to the Taliban kidnappers of Beverly Giesbrecht has reportedly been rejected according to a report on the Globe & Mail newspaper. Giesbrecht, a Canadian freelance journalist who also goes by the name of Khadija Abdul Qahaar, was kidnapped four months ago in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The kidnappers have made several ransom demands since Novemeber, 2008 and issued a threat to kill the 53 year old on March 30 if their demands were not met,

She was kidnapped by gunmen who reportedly work for the Taliban commander, Gul Bahadur. A close aide of Mr. Bahadur told The Globe and Mail he would request a deadline extension in order to continue negotiations over the size of the payment.

“But one thing, which I want to make clear is that they [Taliban] are serious,” said Qari, who asked to be identified by one name only.

“They [the Pakistani and Canadian government] demonstrate stubbornness to pay ransom and get her released,” he said. “Now we will reciprocate with the same attitude.” link